Shotgun shell reloader



Oct. 30, 1962 D. F. BLESI ET AL SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER 5 SheetsLSheet 5 Filed 001i. 8, 1958 IN VEN TORS DOUGLAS .5255/ s x www ...mM/M H f f,/% a. MC MM u w,

" oct. 3o, 1962 D. F. BLESI ET AL 3,060,788 y SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER Filed Oct. 8, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /frromvsy Oct. 30, 1962 D. F. BLEsl ET AL 3,060,788

SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER INVENTORS Doc/Ms Bzss/ I [25 i non so g v 6 BY WM; MM C. SCHAEFFNM l I e o y' I f2s f MMM C W I- l E rfoRA/EY ,l 3,050,788 Patented Get. 3Q, 1952 3,060,783 SHO'IGUN SHELL RELGADER Douglas F. Blesi, 8726 West River Road N., and William C. Schaener, 915 Highway 10, both of Minneapolis, Minn. t

Filed (Pct. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 766,055 9 Claims. (Cl. 36-27) This invention relates to the manufacture of ammunition, and more particularly to apparatus for reloading shotgun shells.

In the original manufacture of shotgun shells, the requirements for versatility and rapid production have resulted in development of automatic machines of considerable complexity. Such automatic machines serve admirably for large scale manufacture but have no purpose in small scale reloading of the shells.

Certain other devices have been proposed in which shotgun shell casings are reloaded, the devices being adapted to perform consecutive operations on the same shell. Since each individual shell must be taken through the series of consecutive steps, usually seven in all, it is obvious that such reloading equipment will be slow in use. Further, since the individual habits of the users may vary, the reloaded shells may lack uniformity unless an operator has developed particular skill with the conventional single shell reloader, his own product may vary from shell to shell.

It is within the contemplation of this invention and a general object thereof to provide a manually operative reloader which will be semi-automatic in nature, combining economy in iirst cost and operation with speed of operation, certain sequence of operations being performed simultaneously on a plurality of shells.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shotgun shell reloader which will utilize a shell holder which is reciprocable to work on a shell casing tirst in one direction and then in the other and also is rotatable to index a plurality of shells from station to station.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a safe and sure sizing and crimping mechanism with a movable element arranged to oppose the movement of the shell holder so as to provide means for ejecting a completed shell, any incompleted operation changing the response of the machine so as to be detectable to the hands of the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the class described in which both powder and shot are simultaneously measured in a rotatable measuring device upon rotation in one direction, and are simultaneously dumped into a pair of partially reconditioned shells upon rotation in the opposite direction, the measuring and dumping being effected simultaneously with other manual movements of the apparatus.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIGURE l is a side elevation of the reloading apparatus taken from the left side, presuming the operator to be positioned to the right of the apparatus, the position of the parts being such as assumed in the neutral or beginning condition of the apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a similar view, somewhat enlarged, showing the shell holder in raised position and the crimper arm prior to crimping in full line representation and in dotted line representation when the crimping is complete, portions of the structure are cut away to better show the lshell casings and internal parts of the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus, also from the left, showing the shell holder in lowermost position during the primer setting operation, parts of the apparatus being in vertical section to reveal internal structures;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus in neutral or beginning position similar to that of FIG- URE l;

:FIGURE 5 is a front elevation of the apparatus with the shell holder in raised position for ejecting a primer, parts of the apparatus being cut away in vertical section;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation taken from the right and showing the parts in beginning or neutral position;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the apparatus, portions of the reservoirs being cut away to show the positions of the outlets;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 3 8 of FIGURE l and showing the shot and powder-feeding element in lling position, the discharge position is shown in dotted line representation;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged segmental vertical section of the shot and powder-feeding element taken on the line 9 9 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE l0 is an enlarged vertical section of the shot and powder-feeding element taken on the line 10--10 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line Irl-11 of FIGURE l, parts being cut away to show the opening through the index plate; and

FIGURE 12 is a somewhat reduced vertical section of a segment of the index plate and detent mechanism taken on the line 12-12 of FIGURE l1.

With continued reference to the drawings, our shotgun shell reloader comprises generally a supporting structure 10 which is upright in nature and adapted to support a reciprocable and rotatable shell holder 11, an upper tool and mount assemblage 12, lower tool 13, actuating mechanism 14 for raising and lowering the shell holder 11, crimping mechanism 15, and the shot and powder-feeding element 16 secured at the upper portion of the supporting structure 10. The structural relationship and coaction between the individual parts will be set forth in detail herebelow.

The supporting structure 10 consists of a base member 17 which in turn may be bolted or otherwise secured by fasteners 1S to -a stationary body 19 such as a bench or table. The base 17 is provided with a medial upstanding boss 20 which, in turn, is provided with an upstanding column 21 which has a constant cross section and extends upwardly to terminate in a threaded end 22 as more clearly shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. The hase 17 is also provided with the rigid upstanding stop rod 23 threadedly secured at 24 to the base 17 and adjustable for height by means of the jamb nut 25, as shown in detail in FIGURE 2. Stop rod 23 terminates upwardly in an abutment head 26, which normally lies within a spring cap 27 against an annular abutment 28 at the bottom thereof. A compression spring 29 normally urges the cap 27 to its uppermost position, as shown in FIGURE 2. The stop rod 23 serves to normally hold the tool holding assembly 11 in neutral position and also prevents the lowering thereof when the cap 27 is depressed to` the level of the abutment 26 on top of stop rod 23.

Also secured to base 17 is the tool 13 shovm more clearly in FIGURES 2 and 3. Tool 13 constitutes a priming punch 30 which is threadably secured at 31 to the top of the pedestal 32 which, in turn, is secured as by fastener 33 to base 17. The priming punch 30' terminates upwardly in an abutment cup 34 which is adapted to bear against a primer 35 peripherally thereof so as not to explode the same. A priming punch sleeve 36 is slidably mounted on the priming punch 30 and is provided with an annular shoulder 37 which is biased normally upward by compression spring 38 and provides a holder for the primer 35 to prevent its lateral displacement. The sleeve 36 is depressible but the priming punch 30 remains rigidly in position during the priming operation.

The upper tool and mount assemblage 12 consists of a tool mount 39 threadedly fixed to the upper end of the column 21 and additionally and adjustably set in its position by means of set screw 40. The tool mount 39 is provided with a plurality of depending tool elements arranged circularly about the axis of column 21 and equally spaced so as to be precisely located with respect to individual stations. These tools are individually designated as follows: the primer punch is 41 and located at station I, the primer punch 41 being threadedly secured at its upper end 42 to the tool mount 39 and terminating downwardly in an axially diminished punch point 43, as shown in FIGURE l. Station II has a powder-drop tube 44 which extends upwardly through the tool mount 39 and terminates downwardly in the open end 45 as shown in FIGURE 4. A station III is provided with a wadseating tool 46 which is normally spring-pressed downwardly by compression spring 47, bearing against abutment collar 48, the wad-seater 46 and compression spring 47 being retained within the bore of threaded cylinder 49, as shown in FIGURE 4. Cap 50 is threadedly secured to the top of the cylinder 49 to retain the spring 47 within the cylinder. The wadding tool 46 is thus arranged so that it cannot exert more than a predetermined pressure upon a wad within a loaded shell. Thus, even where a double charge of powder is placed within a shell casing, there will not be suiicient pressure thereon to cause it to explode. Referring now to FIGURE 6, the next station IV is the shot-drop tube 51. The shot-drop tube, like the powder-drop tube, extends upwardly through the tool mount 39 and extends downwardly to terminate in open end 52, Station V is the crimp starter 53 which is secured to the tool mount 39, as shown in FIGURE 2. The crimp starter has a cylindrical bore 54 which terminates upwardly in a conical concavity 55, for engaging the top of a shell casing to bring the crimped ends toward the center. Station VI constitutes the crimping and sizing tool 56 as shown in FIGURES l and 2. The crimping and sizing tool utilizes a cylindrical sizing die 57 terminating downwardly in an open end 58 and being threadedly retained at its upper end 59 in the tool mount 39. The sizing die is open at each end and extends all the way through the tool mount 39 so as to terminate in the open end 60. Inside the bore of the sizing die 57 is the crimping punch 61 which oats Slidably within the die 57 and has an abutment head 62 at its upper end and a reduced punch extension 63 at its lower end.

Associated with the crimping mechanism 15 is the crimping arm 64 bearing at its lower end 65 upon the head 62, as `shown in FIGURE 2. The arm 64 terminates upwardly in a hand grip 66 and has a lower rigid connecting arm 67 which is secured to a bracket 68 by means of the pivot bolt 69. Bracket 68 is rigidly secured to the top of tool mount 39, as shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 through 10, the shot and powder-feeding element 16 is mounted above the tool holder 39 and is supported by the upper ends of the powder tube 44 and the shot tube 51, as well as the body mount screw 70, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 9. Secured to the upper ends f the shot and powder tubes is the lower measuring body cap 71, as shown in FIGURE 9. The tubes 44 `and 51 extend therethrough and are positioned as shown at 72 and 73 in dotted outline in FIGURE 8. The measuring body 74 is circular in character and is secured to the lower body cap 71 by means of a threaded rod 75 secured at its lower end by nut '76 and passing through the upper body cap 77, as shown in FIGURE 9. Upper body cap 77 has a recess 78 which mates with a corresponding recess 79 in body 74 and a dowel l80 is used to maintain registry between the upper cap 77 and body 74. The threaded screw 70 is countersunk in bore 81 within body 74 and passes through the lower cap 71 so as to maintain mutual registry between the upper and lower caps as well as the body 74. The upper cap 77 is also provided with a pair of Openings 82 and 83, as shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, but these openings are not aligned with openings 72 and 73 in the lower cap 71. They are, however, offset by the same angular amount and lie in the same circular pathway.

Retained between the upper cap 77 and the lower cap 71 and surrounding the `body 74 is the measuring ring 84. Ring 84 is provided with openings 85 and S6 which register with the upper cap openings 82 and 83 when in the position shown in FIGURE 8. The measuring ring 84 is provided with a finger grip 87 which may be rotated from abutment 88 to abutment 89, both of which abutments are secured to the lower cap 71, as shown in FIGURE 8. When the finger grip 87 is in the position shown in full line in FIGURE 8, the openings 85 and 86 will be aligned with the upper cap openings 82 and 83, and when the finger latch 87 is moved to the dotted line position, the openings 85 and 86 will then be aligned with the respective shot-drop and powder-drop tubes 72 and 73, so as to discharge the contents of the measuring ring.

Mounted above the upper cap 77 are two reservoirs 90 and 91 for shot 92 and powder 93, respectively. These reservoirs may be ordinary glass jars with threaded tops 94 and 95 which may be normally capped to preserve the contents thereof when not in use. The present apparatus, however, is provided with inverted adapters 96 and 97 which may first be screwed onto the threaded tops 94 and 95 of jars 90 and 91 while they are in upright position. The adapters 96 and 97 are provided with spouts 98 and 99 which terminate in nozzles 100 and 101, respectively. The nozzles are, in turn, provided with valves 102 and 103 respectively. Thus, the jars 90 and 91, together with their valved cap members, can be inverted with their respective valves shut off and placed in position over the openings 82 and 83 above cap 77, as shown in FIGURE 9. Referring to FIGURE 1, the threaded rod 75 has a double loop retainer 104 somewhat below its top, and is also provided with a lug 105 and a thumb nut 106 threadedly secured at the upper end of rod 75 so as to exert pressure upon the lug 105 and hold the jars 90 and 91 with their nozzles 100 and 101 firmly in Contact with the upper cap 77.

Slidably mounted on the column 21 is the rotatable shell holder 11. The holder, in turn, comprises a carrier 107 which can reciprocate about the column 21, as shown in FIGURES l, 4 and l2. The carrier 107 is provided with a pair of countcrsunk bores 108, each of which retains a compression spring 109 and a small ball bearing 110. The carrier has a hub 111 through which bore 112 extends for slidably receiving the column 21. The upper end of the hub 111 is threaded at 113 for receiving the nut 114, as shown in FIGURE l2. A set screw 115 is employed to position the nut properly. Rotatably mounted on the hub is the index plate 116 as shown in FIGURES l, 4, 11 and 12. The index plate has a hub portion 117 provided with a bore 118 adapted to t about the hub 111, as shown in FIGURE l2. Index plate 116 is provided at its lower side with six small detents or recesses shown at 119, opposed pairs of which are adapted to engage the small ball bearings 110 in sequence to properly register or index the index plate 116 with respect to the tool mount 12 and tools. When the index plate is properly indexed below the tool mount 12, there will be an opening 120 axially beneath each of the stations previously mentioned. Secured to the upper face 121 of the index plate 116 is a template 122, as shown in FIGURE 1l. The template is spaced slightly above face 121 by means of washers 123 and fasteners 124 extending through the template 122 and into the index plate 116, as shown in FIGURE ll. Every other fastener 124 has a double spring clip 125 terminating in curved ends 126,

as shown. The template 122 is provided 'with peripheral arcuate cut-outs 127 so that a shell casing 128 may be inserted thereagainst in abutting relation with the curved ends 126 of spring clip 125 holding them securely in place. The base flange 129 of each of the shell casings 128 will retain each shell in upright position and firmly retain it against vertical movement relative to the index plate 116.

The means 14 for 4reciprocating the shell holder 11 is shown in FIGURES 1 and 4. A crank shaft 130 extends through the boss 20 and has a pair of crank arms 131 secured thereto by means of key 132. Each of the crank arms 131 yis provided with an abutment area 133 which is adapted to engage an abutment screw 134 secured in adjustable relation threadedly in base .17. A jambnut 135 locks the abutment screw 134 in the proper position, as shown in FIGURE 4. Pivotally secured to the ends of `each of the cranks 131 at 136 are respectively links 137 which, in turn, are pivotally secured at 138 to opposed sides of carrier 107. The crank shaft 130 has an actuating arm 139 secured outwardly thereto'and terminates radially outward in a handle 140, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 4.

In the use and operation of the reloading apparatus disclosed herein, jars of shot and power 90 and 91 respectively are positioned at the top of the device with their respective valves 102 and 183 closed. The position of the parts are as shown in FIGURE 1 at the beginning of the operation. A single shell casing 128 is placed against the template and secured by spring clip 125 directly beneath station I. Actuating arm 139 is then pulled forwardly, as shown in FIGURE 5, and, if the shell casing 128 is provided with a spent primer 140, then the primer punch 41 will cause the same to be ejected through the index plate opening 120, as viewed in FIGURE 5. Actuating handle 139 is then pushed rearwardly from the position of FIGURE 5 'back through the neutral position of FIGURE l and all the way rearward until the index plate 116 abuts against the stop pin 23 as shown in FIG- URE 3. It is understood that an unused primer 35 will have been inserted into the primer sleeve 37 in abutting relation with the cup 34 prior to the reverse movement of the handle 139. The handle 139 is then permitted to raise to its neutral position in FIGURE 1 under the influence of compression spring 29 on the stop pin 23 which bears against the member 27 to bias the shell holder 11 to its neutral position. Whenever the arm 139 is moved rearwardly from the most forward position thereof, the users hand passes closely adjacent the measuring ring 84 4and the user catches the nger latch 87 so as to rotate the measuring ring 84 to the position shown in FIGURE 8. At this position, as previously explained, the respective cavities 82 and 83 would be lled with shot and powder respectively if the valves 102 and 103 were open.

With the handle 139 permitted to return to its neutral position of FIGURE l, the index plate 116 is now rotated one-sixth of a revolution counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE l1. Index plate 116 will then be positioned so that shell 128 will be in alignment with station II, as viewed in FIGURE 5. Another empty shell casing 128 is secured in a similar manner to underlie station I. Handle'139 is again pulled forwardly as in FIGURE 5, and, at the same time, the users right hand will catch the latch 87 and move it to the dotted line position as shown in FIGURE 8. For beginning a sequence of operations, the valve 102 may be let't closed while the valve 103 will be opened to permit powder to enter cavity 83 prior to filling cavity 82 with shot. -Moving the measuring ring 84 clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 8, will cause the powder in cavity 83 to be discharged into the shell at station II at the same time that a spent primer 140 is ejected at station I. A new primer 35 is then placed in the sleeve 36 of the primer punch 13 and arm 139 is again moved rearwardly to set the new primer as shown in FIGURE 3. It will be noted that none of the confronting tools secured to tool mount 39 will be utilized during the movement of arm 139 in its rearward stroke. It will be remembered that, during the return movement of arm 139 which preceded the rearward primer setting movement, the users hand caught the linger latch 87 and moved it from the dotted line position to the full line position to replenish cavity 83.

With the handle 139 returned to the neutral position of FIGURE l, the index plate 116 is again rotated a sixth of a turn and a spent shell casing is again inserted into station I. An over-powder wad 141 is then placed in the shell at station III or wad 141 may be placed in a shell starter 142 which is a cylindrical cap 143 having spring fingers 144 adapted to guide the wad 141 into shell casing 128 while holding the end thereof in open condition. Since wad starters are known in the art, no detailed explanation will be given and its use is purely optional. Handle 139 is again pulled forwardly, the foretinger grasping the latch 87 and moving it to its dotted line position to dump a charge of powder into the shell at station II. As previously set forth in detail, the spent primer will be ejected from the newly inserted shell casing 128 and the wad 141 will be set firmly in place against the charge of powder 93 which has been previously placed in the shell at station III when it was at station II. If a predetermined compression is reached upon the powder, the spring 47 will yield so as not to unduly increase the compression force. Thus, if an extra wad 141 was placed in the shell by mistake, no dangerous condition would exist. Handle 139 is again moved rearwardly with the thumb engaging the finger latch 87 to move it to the full line position of FIGURE 8 and to pick up an additional charge of powder in the cavity 83. At the same time, of course, the newly positioned primer 35 will be inserted in the shell casing 128 at station I. Handle 139 will then return to its neutral position, as shown in FIGURE 1, under the influence of spring 29. Again, the index plate 116 is rotated a sixth of a turn counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE 7, advancing all the previous shell casings by one station, following which another spent shotgun shell casing 128 is placed in station I. A wad 141 is placed in the casing at station III and a new primer 3S placed in the sleeve or cap 35. At this point, valve 182 is opened so that shot 92 will ll the cavity 82 so that the measuring ring will henceforth dump both powder and shot each time it is moved forwardly and then backwardly within the limits of stop pins 88 and 89. The handle 139 is then pulled forwardly to punch the old primer out at station I, to load a charge of powder at station II, to ram and set a wad at station III, and to charge a wadded casing with shot at station IV, the nger latch 87 being moved back to its dotted line position to effect discharge of the cavities 82 and 83 as previously described. Again, a new primer 35 is put into sleeve 36 and handle 139 is pushed rearwardly as far as possible, at the same time returning the measuring ring 84 to its full line position by means of the iinger latch 87 shown in FIGURE 8. With the new primer set, the handle 139 is permitted to return to its neutral position, as shown in FIGURE l.

Again, the index plate 116 is rotated counterclockwise a sixth of a turn as viewed in FIGURE ll, to advance all the shell casings one station and to expose an empty place for station I. Another spent shell is put in position in station I and a wad is placed in the shell at station III. With the handle pulled forwardly as viewed in FIGURE 2, all of the previous operations will be repeated, including the dumping of a charge of powder and shot from the cavities 83 and 82. The shell which is now at station V will enter the preliminary crimper 53 and cause it to assume a conical upper end as shown. Upon retraction of the handle 139, and flipping of the measuring ring back from its dotted line to full line position, a new charge of powder and shot will be placed in the re- Ythe lighter charge.

s'pective cavities 83 and 82. Again, the index plate 116 is rotated through a sixth of a turn in a counterclockwise direction to advance all the shell casings one station. A wad is again placed in the shell at station III and handle 139 is pulled forwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 2. As before, the finger latch 87 is swung from a full line to dotted line position to empty the respective powder and shot cavities. The pre-crimped shell casing 128 at station VI rises within the sizing die 57 and bears against the extension 63 of crimping punch 61. Since the crimping tool floats freely in the sizing die, the enlarged abutment end 60 will also rise and bear against the lower end 65 of the crimper arm 64. It will be noted that crank 131 and the link 137 lie in slightly over-center relation with respect to the pivot point 136; thus when the arm 131 abuts the screw 134 at its abutting surface 133, the arm 131 and link 137 will be in locked relation, as shown in FIGURE 2. The crimper arm 64 is then raised to the full line position from its dotted line position and without moving handle 139 the crimper arm 64 is brought down with the left hand to the dotted line position. The crimper tool extension 63 will then strike the pre-crimped end of shell casing 128 and press it within the outer end to complete the reloading of the shell. It is intended that the crimping tool 56 complete its crimping operation Without being completely depressed in stopped condition with respect to a tool holder 39 Thus the operator will have control over the degree of crimping applied to each Shell and will be able to adjust the amount of pressure applied according to the circumstances required. All of the other previously noted operations will be simultaneously performed on the ve other shell casings 128 since a shell is now positioned at each of the six stations. As handle 139 is brought forwardly with the right hand, pressure is continued on crimper arm 64 with the left hand so as to cause the completed shell 128 to be ejected from the sizing die 57. The right hand will, of course, catch the finger latch S7 and rotate it to the dotted line position as in the case of all other return strokes of the arm 139. The completed shell is then removed from station VI, a new empty casing placed in its stead and the index plate 116 is rotated the remaining sixth of a turn so as to complete the revolution thereof. From this point on, each series of lever arm movements, measuring ring oscillations, and placement of a wad and a new primer will produce one completed reloaded shell at station VI while performing one of the essential operations at each of the other five stations.

Where itis desired to convert the apparatus to reloading shells of different load such as the magnum load, the tool holder 39 and individual tools attached thereto can be correspondingly adjusted. Furthermore, a sleeve 145, as shown in FIGURE l0, may be inserted, replaced or removed to vary the volume of the shot cavity 82. It has been found that, in working with ordinary shells, the cavity 83 may be used for both light and heavy charges of powder since explosive powder can be obtained which is denser and more potent to conform with heavier load requirements, but occupying exactly the same volume as For other loads of shells, different sized cavities may be used in the measuring ring 84. For example, cavities 146 and 147 are so positioned relative to the measuring ring 84 that the ring may be rotated arcuately and cause the cavities 146 and 147 to occupy the same position occupied by the cavities 82 and 83, as shown in FIGURE 8. It is understood, of course, that the finger latch 87 will then be removed and linger latch 148 will assume the position between the abutments 88 and 89.

It may thus be seen that we have devised a semi-automatic shotgun shell reloading apparatus which is economical, safe and ecient, certain operations being performed manually so as to drastically cut down on the complexity of fully automatic apparatus of this type.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a shotgun shell reloader, an upright supporting structure, a carrier slidably mounted on said upright supporting structure, a shell holding member rotatably mounted on said carrier and having a series of openings and positioning means adapted for circularly locating a plurality of shotgun shell casings in upright condition with their open ends directed upwardly and the castings centrally positioned over said series of openings, Said shell holding member further having yieldable detent means positioned between it and said carrier permitting rotation of shells to precise consecutive stations while maintaining their relative position with respect to the openings in said holding member, tool members mounted on the upright supporting structure in confronting relation and on each side of the shell holding member, and manually operable handle means for reciprocably moving the shell holding member and carrier toward one of said confronting tools for engagement of a shell therewith and then toward the other for engagement therewith through its associated openings.

2. In a shotgun shell reloader, an upright supporting structure, a carrier slidably mounted on said upright supporting structure, a shell holding member rotatably mounted to said carrier having a series of openings and positioning means for circularly locating a plurality of shotgun shell casings inupright condition with their open ends directed upwardly and further having the casings centrally positioned over said openings, means normally biasing the shell holding member and carrier to a neutral position on said upright supporting structure, said positioning means further having yieldable detent means positioned between it and said carrier permitting rotation of shells to precise consecutive stations while maintaining their relative position with respect to the openings in said holding member while the latter is in said neutral position, tool members mounted rigidly upon said upright supporting structure in confronting relation and at each side of the shell holding member in its neutral position, and manually operable handle means for reciprocably moving the shell holding member and carrier toward one of said confronting tools for engagement of a shell therewith and then toward the other for engagement therewith through its associated openings.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2, wherein the means normally biasing the shell holding member also provide a stop which limits the downward movement thereof.

4. In a shotgun shell reloader, an upright supporting structure, a carrier slidably mounted on the upright supporting structure, an index plate rotatably mounted on the carrier and having a lower side confronting said carrier, said plate having a plurality of circularly positioned openings and further being provided with a positioning means for locating a plurality of shotgun shell casings in upright condition with their open ends directed upwardly and further having each casing axially disposed above an opening, said index plate further having yieldable detent means positioned between the lower side thereof and said carrier permitting rotation of Shells to precise consecutive stations while maintaining their relative positions with respect to the openings in said index plate, tool members mounted rigidly upon said upright supporting structure in spaced confronting relation and at each side of the index plate, and manually operable handle means for sliding the carrier and horizontal index plate toward one of said confronting tools for engagement of a shell therewith and then toward the other for engagement therewith through its associated opening.

5. In a shotgun shell reloader, an upright supporting structure, a carrier slidably mounted on the supporting structure, a horizontal index plate rotatably mounted on said carrier and having a lower side confronting said carrier, said horizontal index plate having a Series of circularly disposed openings, a shell-positioning template secured to the top of said horizontal index plate and adapted to register each shell over an opening through said horizontal index plate, said template bearing radially outward from the axis of the index plate and overlying a peripheral portion of each shell base, a spring clip horizontally and removably retaining shells in vertically locked relation with respect to the index plate and template, said horizontal plate further having yieldable detent means positioned between the lower side thereof and said carrier permitting rotation of shells to precise consecutive stations while maintaining their relative positions with respect to `the openings through the index plate, tool members mounted rigidly upon said upright supporting structure in confronting relation and at each side of the horizontal index plate, and manually operable handle means for reciprocably moving the carrier and horizontal index plate toward one of said confronting tools for engagement of a shell therewith and then toward the other for engagement therewith 4through its associated openings.

6. In apparatus for reloading shotgun shells, an upright supporting structure, a shell holding member mounted in sliding engagement with said supporting structure and adapted to releasably hold an uncrimped shell with its base downward and longitudinally of the upright supporting structure, a tool mount iixed to the supporting structure above the shell loading member and having a cylindrical sizing die rigidly secured thereto in depending relation and in alignment with an incompletely crimped shell casing when held by the holding member, a crimping tool slidably mounted within the sizing die and having a lower crimping end and an upper abutment extending externally of the sizing die, a rst manually operable means pivotally secured to said supporting structure and adapted to move said shell holding member vertically so as to project in the completely crimped shell into the sizing die and to hold the shell therein, and a second manually operable means pivotally secured to said tool mount and having a portion thereof overlying said crimping tool and adapted to vertically project said crimping tool against the upper end of the shell to crimp and size the same, said second manually operable means being adapted to continue the vertical projection of the crimping tool during the simultaneous releasing of the rst manually operable means, whereby to forcibly eject the completely crimped shell under controlled conditions from the sizing die.

7. In apparatus for reloading shotgun shells, an upright supporting structure, a shell holding member mounted in sliding engagement with said supporting structure and adapted to `releasably hold an uncrimped shell with its base downward and longitudinally of the upright supporting structure, a tool mount fixed to the supporting structure above the shell holding member and having a cylindrical sizing die rigidly secured thereto in depending relation and in alignment with an incompletely crimped shell casing when held by the holding member, a crimping tool slidably mounted within the sizing die and having a lower crimping end and an upper abutment extending externally of the sizing die, a crank lever journaled in the supporting structure and connected to said shell holding member, said crank lever being adapted to raise said shell holding member so as to project the incompletely crimped shell into the sizing die and to hold the shell therein by means of one hand of the operator, and a crimping arm pivotally secured to the tool mount and lying in engagement with the abutment of said crimping tool, said crimping arm being movable by means of the operators other hand to project the crimping tool vertically against the shell to crimp and size the same, said crimping arm being adapted to continue the projection of the crimping tool during the simultaneous release of said crank whereby to forcibly eject the completely crimped shell under controlled conditions from the sizing die.

8. The apparatus set vforth in claim 6, wherein the sizing die is open at each end and the crimping tool floats freely in the die and has an enlarged abutment head at its upper end extending beyond the upper open end of the sizing die for engagement with Said second manually operable means.

9. In semi-automatic apparatus for reloading shot-gun shells, an upright supporting structure, a tool mount rigidly secured to said upright supporting structure and having a plurality of tool stations equally and circularly disposed about the axis of the mount, a carrier slidably mounted on said upright supporting structure, a shell holding member slidably mounted upon said carrier and having positioning means for circularly locating a plurality of shell casings, one in alignment with each of said stations, actuating means adapted to move the shell holding member and the tool mount convergently into enga-gement and divergently out of engagement, said shell holding member further having yieldable detent means positioned between it and said carrier permitting rotation of the shell holding member to place each of the shell casings in alignment with the different stations, a powder reservoir mounted on the upright supporting structure above the tool mount, a shot reservoir mounted upon the u-pright supporting structure above the tool mount, a measuring ring rotatably secured to said upright supporting structure below said shot and powder reservoirs and above said tool mount and having a pair of measuring cavities formed therethrough, a conduit leading from the powder reservoir to one of said cavities, a conduit leading from the shot reservoir to the other of said cavities, a depending powder tube located at one of said tool stations, and a shot tube located at another of said tool stations, said measuring ring being rotatable to simultaneously shift both of said cavities out of communication with said reservoirs to a position in communication with the respective powder and shot tubes.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 336,384 Chamberlin Feb. 16, 1886 356,975 Badger Feb. 1, 1887 547,058 Barlow Oct. l, 1895 2,031,850 Peterson Febr 25, 1936 2,091,397 Shockey Aug. 31, 1937 2,749,790 Miller June 12, 1956 2,807,186 Veum Sept. 24, 1957 2,819,644 Corcoran Jan. 14, 1958 2,856,807 vStutzrnan Oct. 21, 1958 

